Visitor
by Nelys the Alchemist
Summary: Anger suddenly shot up like lightning and she had to resist the urge to smack him with the frying pan hanging above his head.


Disclaimer: If anyone thinks I'm making money from this they're more delusional than I am.

Warning: Not beta-read. I also don't know how OOC they may be. Otherwise enjoy!

**Visitor**

Tick-Tock.

The clock read 7:47.

7:47 in angry red letters, glaring up at her from its smug position on the desk. Whoever thought red was a good color for the general public to focus on throughout the day was an idiot. Looking from the bottle in her hand to the clock again she quickly calculated how long the stupid pills were supposed to take until they kicked in. She noisily threw them back in the drawer, slamming it shut.

She stretched (not for the first time), shifting her hips with her arms above her head in an effort to relieve the discomfort in her lower back. The chairs must have been designed by the same person, she decided, as their subtle design helped ease tension only when you sat in them at just the right angle. Which any normal person could do by chopping off their legs and strapping their back to the thing with duct tape.

A knock sounded, causing her to start and shoot a glare at the closed door. She heaved a sigh and scooted back in her seat. "Come in."

Mary came shuffling in, a bright smile on her face and paperwork in her arms. She put a couple of paper clipped items in the basket marked in-box, and handed the more important ones to her boss one at a time, naming them off as she did so.

"Here is the final draft of the L2 spaceport restructuring project. They made the revisions you requested. This one is the Orgentri draft that Minister Chancy would like your input on today." She paused as Relena unceremoniously dropped them onto the desk in front of her. "These three are the environmental impact surveys done by Canada – the boys down in legal can take care of them-"

"They don't know what to look for." She snapped and snatched them out of Mary's hand.

"...and these need..." She paused again and gave a nervous smile, "...are you ok today? Would you like more coffee?"

Relena forced a smile and gave a curt reply that yes, she was fine, and yes, more coffee would be lovely. Mary practically ran out of the room with her mug.

&&&

Steaming cup at the ready Relena sighed, feeling uncomfortable and antsy. She sifted through her in-box, forwarding and deleting and moving items for later review. After getting it down to a mere eighty-seven messages unread she turned to the physical papers in front of her. A wave of fresh discomfort washed over her and she groaned, dropping her head on her desk and fought the urge to cry. When something wet touched her cheek she jumped up, snatching immediately at the papers getting soaked in coffee from her spilled mug.

"Damn it!!" Her anger flared unchecked and the scowl on her face when Mary ran into the room could have scared the Lighting Count. Mary suddenly wished she were on Mars.

Once order was restored Relena tried to make up for the lost time not only from the spill, but from her agitated procrastination as well. It was hard to get things done when your nerve endings felt like they were eating themselves while you sat there.

A knock on the door startled her, she was always jumpy around this time. Mary must have stepped away from her desk, she mused as a bearded face came around the door jamb.

"Sorry to disturb you but I need to get to the ventilation duct through here. There's a short in the line above it." A man in coveralls, maintenance obviously, strolled in eyeballing the room. "It should be behind the bookcase there." The technician walked over to the corner he pointed at, looking way too happy for his own good and Relena tried very hard not to snap at his causal attitude.

"How long do you think you'll be?" She asked in what she hoped was a polite tone.

He jumped. "I hope to be done within an hour but it could take as long as three." and gave her a shaky smile.

"Oh hell," Escaped her lips before she could stop it. She waved her hand impatiently for him to start after he seemed inclined to just stand there. Elbow on the desk she dropped her head in her hand and tried to concentrate on the paperwork in front of her as the bookcase was grunted and scraped away from the wall.

Relena grit her teeth and tried to block out the sounds of scraping tools and working male. Humming under her breath she finally started to make headway in the revised spaceport restructuring, shifting every now and then to ease the ache in her lower abdomen.

"Excuse me?"

She jumped and looked up at the man. The clock gloated as the numbers clicked to 9:56. The technician, a bit dirtier now than minutes before, motioned to the wall. "Can you show me an outlet I can use?"

"An outlet?" She looked distractedly around the room. "What for?"

Apologetically grin on his face, he held up a drill and she winced.

"There's one behind the couch." She mumbled, wishing she had locked the door as the Foreign Minster knocked and came into the room.

"Relena, I can't find the paperwork for the Orgentri file, have you reviewed it yet?"

Fuck. "Oh, it should be-" The drill sounded with a shrill whine as she shuffled through the papers littering her desk, causing her to cringe and send them flying. Both she and the minister began picking them up when another knock sounded at her door and two more people came rushing into the room.

The drill whined and ping'd through metal and plaster, the noise going high and low as it flowed throughout the room and Relena's eardrums.

Pleading eyes held out a file folder, "Relena, can you sign off on this agreement for the-"

Hitting a bolt it let out a particularly high screech. She wished she could make a similar sound and smiled to keep from crying.

A hand thrust a report at her, shaking it impatiently, "-I really need to speak with you about this objection to line six-"

Ripping through metal with as much noise it could make the drill growled low, or perhaps it was Relena who looked up at the report with fire in her eyes. An objection?

"Ah, here it is," Minister Chancy said, causing worry to come rushing into her stomach and fight for supremacy over the fire, "Can you do a quick breakdown analysis for me by lunch?"

The deafening wail of the drill stopped with a sudden and ominous SNAP.

"Aw shit." Came from within the duct.

It took all her strength not to scream.

&&&

Relena watched the coffee machine with intense eyes and wished she had a box to crawl into. She was leaning against the support wall next to the counter, head and all, focused on the slow drip of the coffee into the cup. The wall clock innocently read 11:02 and her posture clearly marked death to anyone strolling in thinking of an early lunch.

She pulled the cup from the machine and quickly dumped sugar into it before taking a sip. Giving a disgusted sigh she forcefully threw the liquid into the sink before putting the cup back beneath the spout of the machine. Wincing from a twinge in her abdomen she scanned the flavor packets in distrust. She hated this machine. It served instant coffee in a variety of flavors, all of them undrinkable. The single serving packets didn't fill a cup all the way but two overfilled most. Her regular coffee pot, three floors up near her office, was unattainable since everyone could find her there. She gloomily selected another packet and popped it into the dispenser, glowering thoughts going to her floor.

Footsteps sounded in the room and Relena forced a neutral expression on her face, fighting the urge to curl into the corner.

They came to a stop behind her and she sensed the question mark above the persons head. Turning slightly she raised her head, as much of a smile as she could manage on her face while inwardly she groaned.

Heero stared at her and cocked an eyebrow, change in hand for the snack machine.

Relena wanted to cry.

"Hi." She said pleasantly (she hoped).

"What are you doing down here?" His tone was light, quizzical.

"Getting coffee." Duh. She tried to keep the sullen out of her tone.

"I thought you hated this kind?" Jerk. He knew perfectly well she hated it.

She pulled the cup out and stirred the sugar in as another slow wave of subtle pain swirled across her belly to sit at her back. He took notice of her pained sigh and the way she leaned back against the counter. "What's wrong?" He added.

Sure, _now_ he was feeling talkative. How she longed for him to grunt and walk out the door.

She took a sip from the steaming cup and crinkled her nose at the taste. "Nothing, it was crowded upstairs. Waiting for a new pot."

"Do you feel ok?" Again with the questions. If everyone left her alone she would have been in a great mood.

"I'm fine I'm fine." She snapped as agitation settled in on top of the pain. "I just wanted a minute to myself. Can I have one of those once in a while? How come you're in here? Why aren't you in YOUR office?" The sarcasm was heavy even to her ears but she suddenly felt like sharing her bad mood.

He frowned just as Duo rounded the corner with two other Preventors in tow. "Hey Heero, we're thinkin' about heading around eleven-forty-five, try to beat the crowds you know? Hey Relena!-"

Fuck. She shifted uncomfortably and bit back the groan at his appearance.

"-A bunch of us are heading to Earls for a bite, wanna come along?"

"Thank you but no. I'm...busy." Her anger was dissolving quickly into claustrophobia as all eyes turned to her. She glanced wistfully at the window and blue sky beyond.

"Aw you're always busy! C'mon, you know you can squeeze us in, I'll grab a table for eight."

"No," she snapped quickly, feeling overwhelmed, tired and sore, "I really can't today, I have a lot to do and-"

"You're not talkin' yourself out of it this time, if we can get Captain Isolation-" A nod in Heero's direction, "-to come out you have to come too. I'll even order some of those nasty chewy fish rings you love-"

"Calamari?" Another Preventor chimed in.

"Yeah that's the stuff, you know," He turned to the two behind him. "I don't know how people can eat that crap-"

"Relena," Heero said quietly as she fought to not stab Duo in the eye with a coffee stirrer or burst into tears, "are you in pain?"

Duo's tirade on fish cut off and everyone looked at her. Well of all the days she didn't want the attention, this was it. Embarrassment flushed across her cheeks but her response was already clawing at her teeth to be free.

"I'm fine! I have a stomachache!" She threw the coffee at the sink before slamming the cup into the trash. "It. Is. Nothing." She hissed through grit teeth as she stomped around them, trying desperately to hold back the upheaval of emotions trying to flood out. "Nothing unusual, nothing out of the ordinary, nothing to be concerned about. It's a pain I'm veeeery used to." 'Shut up shut up shut up!' She ground her teeth and pursed her lips, rounding the corner of the now silent breakroom and heading away.

Moving quickly down the hall she could feel the tears rise. The door to the ladies room crashed open against her small fist and she ducked inside, locking herself in the handicapped stall and slumping on the edge of the toilet, willing the world away.

&&&

"Uh. Ok, dude what did you say?" Duo shot Heero an accusatory look. "If you've pissed her off again I swear-"

Heero had been moving to go after her but stalled at the doorway, looking back at the man. "Nothing this time."

"Oh leave her alone," One of the two unknowns to Relena spoke up, waving her hand in a dismissive gesture. "She's having a bad day, just leave her be."

"She might need to see a doctor if she's in pain Karri..." Heero was trying to keep Relena in sight, and watched her run into the ladies room.

"No she doesn't," Karri replied, eyes rolling. "She'll be fine in a couple days. Nothing we ladies can't handle."

Heero turned to Karri, allowing confusion to settle on his brow as Duo gave a knowing "ooooh yeah," and promptly turned to the other Preventor in the room, ready to discuss lunch again.

She laughed at Heero's expression. "Never had a long term girl huh?" She leaned in and said in a conspiratorial whisper, "She's going through that 'special time'."

Heero was silent a beat too long and she laughed again.

"Oh Heero, you need to get a girl." He frowned as she, leaning in close, whispered in his ear. Suddenly he straightened up and shifted slightly on his feet, the only sign of any discomfort at the topic.

"Oh...that," He glowered slightly at her grin, "I know about female anatomy....but then why-"

Karri held her hands up as if to stop him in his tracks. "Nuh-uh. I already had to go through this with my husband, I'm not explaining it again unless I have a daughter. You wanna know details? Go look it up."

"Fine," He turned to Duo, "I can't make it to lunch." Then turned and headed down to his office.

"Aw dude!" Duo turned to his coworker, "Karri! I blame you for that!"

"You want me to explain it to him over the Calamari?" She replied.

Duo cringed, grossed out on two fronts.

&&&

The clock was laughing at her. She just knew it was. The digital readout said it was 1:12 but she knew it had been at least five hours since her performance in the breakroom.

She came back to her desk to find a fine layer of dust over everything and, according to her secretary, the maintenance guy was going to be back after two to finish. There were three new stacks of paperwork and twenty-seven new emails in her in-boxes and her phone must have sensed she was back as it suddenly started ringing.

Oh. And a giant hole where her bookcase used to be.

After a refreshing cry in the bathroom the current state of her office could do little to disrupt her already sour mood so she dropped into her seat and shifted, rubbing her lower back futilely before picking up her pen with resolve. She had just touched ink to paper when her door opened and Heero walked in. She grimaced, her face covered by her hair as she bent over the paper. "Yes Heero?"

She looked up, sure he would be standing there with a doctor and a scowl, and was surprised by the neutral expression on his face.

"Are you ready?" He asked, causal eyes finding the hole in her wall before coming to rest on her.

"Ready? For what?" She frowned, antsy. What the hell was this now?

He blinked. "It's been six months since the new security system was put in place at your house. I have to audit the system for any problems." He gave her a look that clearly said 'I've told you this before' and pointed to her computer. "We set it up two weeks ago."

She snapped her head to her monitor and sure enough, a meeting reminder had popped up on-screen with his name on it. What the _hell_?

Panic and confusion battled for the top spot behind her eyes while she scanned the workload sitting before her across the desk. "How did I forget..." She shuffled through the dusty papers before looking up at him. "We have to reschedule, there's so much that still needs to be-"

"No."

She paused, fury shoving panic and confusion to the side. _No_?

"No?! Heero, I can't-I scheduled meetings for later and-"

"It will only take an hour. It has to be done."

"Can't it be done tomorrow?" She looked at him with pleading eyes. If anyone could help her today, it would be him.

"It has to be today." He checked his watch. "In twenty minutes, actually. Get your coat."

She took a moment to mentally strangle him and stood, her back aching. She grabbed her coat and bag, still unsure how she could have forgotten something that would drag her away from the office. She almost felt like crying over the jumble of the day that was going through her head.

Moving out the door she turned an apologetic smile to her secretary, "Mary, I have a meeting with Preventor Yuy but I should-"

"I know, I have it here. I'll keep the wolves at bay." Mary smiled and turned to the ringing phone, giving them a wave as Heero pulled her down the hall.

The elevator doors closed and Relena turned to Heero. She was embarrassed with her outburst earlier but was still in a sullen enough mood not to bring it up.

"I'm sorry I forgot..." She said softly after a long moment. Her anger had hid again and she was going to burst into tears at the slightest sign of compassion. She eyed him wearily.

He shrugged. She fell back into her thoughts.

&&&

Things were quiet when they stepped through the door. Relena's home was modest, three bedrooms and a bath upstairs, everything else on the main floor. She had a housekeeper come through once a week and a cook on the weekends but was otherwise alone. Her guard detail showed up in the morning and left after a thorough check of the premises at the end of the day.

Relena was standing in the middle of the foyer going over the rest of her schedule, trying to figure out how late she would have to stay tonight to finish everything she set out to accomplish that day. Heero brushed past her without another word, something she was very grateful for, and disappeared into the living room.

The tranquility of the house did little to ease her emotional tensions, if anything it served to enhance her desire to crawl under the covers and away from the world, something she had been fighting with all day. Annoyance crept in after she checked her watch again. Twenty minutes past and she was still in the hall, sitting on a chair with her coat on, fidgeting and mentally berating herself for not bringing any paperwork with her. He had rushed her out so quickly...

"I'm going to make some tea," He spoke up, brushing past her to move into her kitchen. She looked up, alarmed at his casual attitude and apparent lack of concern for her schedule. She hurried after him, a growing cloud of misery keeping pace above her head.

"Heero, can't you just finish what you need to do so we can get back??" Shrill was a word Duo would have gladly used at that moment, so it was a good thing he wasn't there. She wrung her hands and tried to calm her nerves. "There's so much I have to do."

Looking up from her hands he was already filling her teapot and completely ignored her. He moved slowly, putting it on the stove and pulling down two cups out of her cabinets. He moved around the room with the manner of someone who knew the layout well. Pulling out a box from his briefcase he took teabags from it and put them in the cups before turning around. Deliberately slow he leaned against her counter, crossed his arms, and stared at her.

Anger suddenly shot up past her worry like lightning and she had to resist the urge to smack him with the frying pan hanging above his head.

"Stop staring at me and get back to your testing thing!!" When he continued to look at her she, feeling particularly mature, stomped her foot, "I'm going to be stuck there until ten now you-you jerk!!" She was angry, she was frustrated, and she didn't care how childish she looked. He was picking at nerves already worn thin from a bad day at the worst time of the month. She held onto her hands so she didn't punch him to get some sort of reaction out of him.

Her phone rang from the hall just then, jerking her upright at the sudden and demandingly loud noise ringing throughout the quiet house and she rushed out of the room to get it.

After a deep breath to calm said frayed nerves she answered, "Yes Mary?"

Mary sounded contrite on the other end of the phone. "Oh Miss Relena, I'm afraid you won't be able to get into your office for the rest of the day."

Time froze and so did Relena, her anger and frustration cementing her shoulder blades together while Mary waiting on the other end of the phone.

"What?" She asked in a small voice.

"That maintenance person, he brought a team in after you left and they had to completely remove the wall in your office. They're going to be there the rest of the day and possibly tomorrow." Relena didn't register the smile in Mary's voice as she drifted towards the chair her phone had been perched on.

She sat down hard on the chair, unable to believe this new turn of events. Her papers…that stupid treaty for L3…the meeting with Chancellor Roberts…

"Don't worry, I explained to the Minister and pulled the more important items from your office before they closed it off. I've got the team working to sort it out now so when you come in you should only have to review."

She blinked at the phone. Too shocked to be angry with Mary's decision to delegate what she herself had snatched out of her hands this morning.

"My meetings?" Relena asked.

"Your meetings have been rescheduled."

Her back throbbed again and she shifted in her seat, dazed. After a moment logic whispered in her ear.

"How did you do all of this so quickly?" She frowned, still not understanding.

"Don't worry!" Mary answered lightly, " I'll see you tomorrow. Gotta go, incoming call. Bye!"

The phone clicked and Relena stared at it as she slowly lowered it from her ear. So sudden a change of events it was that those damn emotions couldn't keep up and she sat there...

She didn't have to go back? After everything she already went through …All the anger…the frustration… the annoyance…the stupid embarrassment…

She lowered her head and sniffled. Oh the joys of being a woman...

It was all just too much.

She cried softly, curled in on herself on the chair.

And was promptly interrupted by a teacup that suddenly appeared in her vision.

Her cheeks flushed as she realized Heero was crouched down next to her, one hand on the arm of her chair, the other holding out the cup for her. His expression was blank as she pulled her sleeve up and wiped at her eyes before he took her hand and carefully put the cup in it.

He straightened and took her other hand, pulling her to her feet and into the kitchen.

She found herself moments later sitting at her table, the teacup hot in her hand, and Heero sitting next to her watching.

"Try it," He said, "You'll like it."

She raised the cup to her lips and smelled the peppermint before she tasted it. She did like it.

They drank in silence until she put the cup on the table and raised her eyes to his.

"What did you do?" She asked softly, knowing this couldn't have been coincidence.

"I had Mary clear your schedule for the day and give your work to your subordinates…who should have been doing it in the first place."

"Why?"

He was silent for a moment. "I did some research after our...encounter earlier."

She flushed an interesting shade of crimson. "I'm sorry I snapped-"

He shook his head and continued. "I never knew the...hormonal effects could be so strong. I wanted to help."

She lifted her lips in a small smile and another tear slid down her cheek. "You're always trying to help."

He lifted the corner of his mouth in acknowledgment.

She sniffled. "So you lied?"

He straightened slightly. "I didn't lie," He said defensively, "I tested your system." He paused. "It only took me ten minutes."

"Oh. I see." She took another drink. "Mary added you to my schedule then?"

He nodded.

She nodded back.

He took her hand. "I don't...like it when you're not feeling well. You should have told me what it was instead of being so-"

"-Bitchy?"

"Abrupt." He blew out a small breath. "I'm trying to be a good boyfriend."

"You've been a wonderful boyfriend."

He nodded again, happier but still distracted, "I want to be better. For you. But I can't improve without a proper knowledge base." He slid his gaze to hers. "You have to tell me these things I never...had to deal with before."

She smiled soft and genuine and exhausted. "Ok."

He nodded with finality and they both drank their tea. A calm she hadn't felt all day started to settle over her shoulders, easing the tension and relaxing her thoughts.

"...Do you feel better?" He asked several minutes later.

"My back hurts," She replied honestly, "But I feel better."

He thought for a minute.

"Would you like to watch a movie? I picked up that old one you wanted to see, about the rabbit."

She brightened. "Harvey? Oh, I would love that!"

Yes, he was definitely a wonderful boyfriend.

&&&

The business day closed with her office missing a wall and covered in dust. Mary called on her way home with the good news that she would have to work from home tomorrow but was sent to voicemail.

The evening closed with the two stretched out on the couch with a blanket over them, take out containers on the floor and both deep in the tale of an invisible rabbit named Harvey.

End

Yeah, what can I say. I'm an absolute bitch at that wonderful time every month. My boyfriend tries to steer clear, not sure whether I'm about to cry at him or swear, throwing chocolate at me when he accidentally crosses my path.

So...Didja like it?


End file.
